Twins place ailing Nolasco on DL, recall Herrmann

SEATTLE -- The Twins placed right-hander Ricky Nolasco on the 15-day disabled list with a strained right elbow on Tuesday, and recalled catcher/outfielder Chris Herrmann from Triple-A Rochester.

Nolasco flew back to Minnesota on Monday, and was examined by team physician Dr. John Steubs on Tuesday. He had an MRI exam that revealed no structural damage to his ulnar collateral ligament, but he has soreness in his flexor-pronator muscle.

Nolasco, 31, has pitched to a 5-7 record and a 5.90 ERA in his first 18 starts for the Twins this season.

"He doesn't think it's going to be something will keep him out a long time," Twins assistant general manager Rob Antony said. "Our doctors were pleased everything looked structurally good. Hopefully it won't be a long process to get him right again and get that stiffness out of there."

Nolasco, who joined the club on a four-year, $49 million deal in the offseason, has dealt with the injury off and on this season, but he didn't tell the training staff about his elbow until Monday. He lasted a season-worst two innings on Sunday, giving up six runs.

"When he was asked why he didn't come forward, he said he didn't want to be that guy who signed a big deal and went immediately on the DL," Antony said. "He said if it would've hurt he probably would've, but it was just stiffness and trouble getting loose."

Herrmann batted .122 in 41 at-bats for the Twins earlier this season, and he's a .176 career hitter in 81 games in the big leagues. Herrmann was hitting .314 with a .383 on-base percentage for Rochester, though, and he had 15 extra-base hits in his first 33 games at Triple-A this season.